Max Scherzer probably could have retired after winning the 2019 World Series with the Washington Nationals and still had a plaque waiting for him in Cooperstown. Instead, he is still capable of dealing at 42 for the Toronto Blue Jays.His most recent performance was one of his best this season. On Sunday, Scherzer tossed seven scoreless innings in Toronto’s 7-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out 10. His final punchout, against Cal Raleigh in the seventh, pushed him past Gaylord Perry for ninth place on MLB’s all-time list with 3,535 career strikeouts.That is not a milestone that can be reached through a handful of ridiculous strikeout seasons. Scherzer’s career has spanned nearly two decades, and he has spent that time steadily climbing the mountain that is baseball’s strikeout leaderboard.An Arm Carved From Stone Max Scherzer pitches to the Boston Red Sox during the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectScherzer made his Major League debut all the way back in 2008, when both baseball and the world around it looked considerably different. For perspective, Michael Jackson was still alive, Barack Obama was still months away from being elected president, Marvel had just kicked off its cinematic universe with the release of Iron Man, and the person responsible for writing this article was starting kindergarten.In baseball, legends such as Ken Griffey Jr., Pedro Martínez and Randy Johnson were still hanging around, while Albert Pujols looked like the best hitter on the planet rather than the aging veteran who would later lumber around Anaheim.Scherzer has lasted long enough that you could split his career in half and both portions would still look impressive. History does show, however, that there have been other anomalies who continued pitching at an age when most athletes are already in the broadcast booth.You could make a solid argument that Randy Johnson was one of baseball’s greatest late bloomers. He did not truly hit his stride until his late 20s, but he more than made up for lost time by remaining in the Majors until age 45. By the time he reached Scherzer’s current age, Johnson had begun showing signs of wear, but he still won 17 games for the Yankees despite posting a 5.00 ERA.Nolan Ryan managed to one-up Johnson by pitching until he was 46, and he was still performing at an absurd level at Scherzer’s current age. As a 42-year-old in 1989, Ryan struck out 301 batters while posting a 3.20 ERA.Scherzer does not compare particularly well with those two freakishly durable arms over a full season, as his ERA still sits at 6.16. There are at least signs that Mad Max has some juice left, though, with a 3.60 ERA over his last seven starts. That would be a welcome development for a Blue Jays team trying to cling to a playoff spot and salvage a disappointing season after reaching the World Series a year ago.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow